Crooks will often steal identities outside the tax season, then file in your name. The biggest problem is that it can take the IRS up to 180 days to fix the problem, because workers have to sort out who's who.

Taxpayers who have had their identities stolen recently should get a special number to file with called an Identity Protection PIN. There's also an affidavit to fill out explaining your taxes have already been affected, or could be, due to identity theft. Affected taxpayers should call the Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490.